[SOLVED] Slack turn my laptop into a furnace!

BashTin · 07-26-2014, 09:56 AM

Sorry for the alarming headline, but it almost does.

I have installed slack 14.1, 64 bit on my Toshiba Satellite C805. The cpu is an Intel i3-2350m 2.3Ghz. The thing is it runs very hot and the fan is constantly whizzing round. With Windows 7 however calm reigns and the cpu temp comes in around 55 - 60C. On Slack it is around 80C! It is almost unusable with frequent seizes and logs in dmesg about cpu temp thresholds. I've been a long time user of Slack and have used it on my laptops before without too much of an issue even though it does run hotter than, cough, other operating systems. So please help if you can, I'm almost too scared to use Linux on my laptop in case I fry it!

This is what sensors shows....

Code:

bash-4.2# sensors
coretemp-isa-0000
Adapter: ISA adapter
Physical id 0:  +84.0°C  (high = +80.0°C, crit = +85.0°C)
Core 0:         +83.0°C  (high = +80.0°C, crit = +85.0°C)
Core 1:         +84.0°C  (high = +80.0°C, crit = +85.0°C)

radeon-pci-0100
Adapter: PCI adapter
temp1:        +71.0°C

and sensors detect (edit)

Code:

bash-4.2# sensors-detect
# sensors-detect revision 6209 (2014-01-14 22:51:58 +0100)
# System: TOSHIBA Satellite C805 [PSC6EQ-007004] (laptop)
# Board: Type2 - Board Vendor Name1 Type2 - Board Product Name1

Some south bridges, CPUs or memory controllers contain embedded sensors.
Do you want to scan for them? This is totally safe. (YES/no): 

Intel digital thermal sensor...                                  Success!
    (driver `coretemp')

Some Super I/O chips contain embedded sensors. We have to write to
standard I/O ports to probe them. This is usually safe.
Do you want to scan for Super I/O sensors? (YES/no): 
Probing for Super-I/O at 0x2e/0x2f
Trying family `National Semiconductor/ITE'...               Yes
Found unknown chip with ID 0xfc11
Probing for Super-I/O at 0x4e/0x4f

Now follows a summary of the probes I have just done.
Just press ENTER to continue: 

Driver `coretemp':
  * Chip `Intel digital thermal sensor' (confidence: 9)

Do you want to generate /etc/sysconfig/lm_sensors? (yes/NO): yes
Copy prog/init/lm_sensors.init to /etc/init.d/lm_sensors
for initialization at boot time.
You should now start the lm_sensors service to load the required
kernel modules.

and cpufreq-info

Code:

bash-4.2# cpufreq-info 
cpufrequtils 008: cpufreq-info (C) Dominik Brodowski 2004-2009
Report errors and bugs to cpufreq@vger.kernel.org, please.
analyzing CPU 0:
  driver: intel_pstate
  CPUs which run at the same hardware frequency: 0
  CPUs which need to have their frequency coordinated by software: 0
  maximum transition latency: 0.97 ms.
  hardware limits: 800 MHz - 2.30 GHz
  available cpufreq governors: performance, powersave
  current policy: frequency should be within 800 MHz and 2.30 GHz.
                  The governor "powersave" may decide which speed to use
                  within this range.
  current CPU frequency is 851 MHz (asserted by call to hardware).
analyzing CPU 1:
  driver: intel_pstate
  CPUs which run at the same hardware frequency: 1
  CPUs which need to have their frequency coordinated by software: 1
  maximum transition latency: 0.97 ms.
  hardware limits: 800 MHz - 2.30 GHz
  available cpufreq governors: performance, powersave
  current policy: frequency should be within 800 MHz and 2.30 GHz.
                  The governor "powersave" may decide which speed to use
                  within this range.
  current CPU frequency is 2.00 GHz (asserted by call to hardware).
analyzing CPU 2:
  driver: intel_pstate
  CPUs which run at the same hardware frequency: 2
  CPUs which need to have their frequency coordinated by software: 2
  maximum transition latency: 0.97 ms.
  hardware limits: 800 MHz - 2.30 GHz
  available cpufreq governors: performance, powersave
  current policy: frequency should be within 800 MHz and 2.30 GHz.
                  The governor "powersave" may decide which speed to use
                  within this range.
  current CPU frequency is 782 MHz (asserted by call to hardware).
analyzing CPU 3:
  driver: intel_pstate
  CPUs which run at the same hardware frequency: 3
  CPUs which need to have their frequency coordinated by software: 3
  maximum transition latency: 0.97 ms.
  hardware limits: 800 MHz - 2.30 GHz
  available cpufreq governors: performance, powersave
  current policy: frequency should be within 800 MHz and 2.30 GHz.
                  The governor "powersave" may decide which speed to use
                  within this range.
  current CPU frequency is 1.15 GHz (asserted by call to hardware).

lscpu

Code:

bash-4.2# lscpu
Architecture:          x86_64
CPU op-mode(s):        32-bit, 64-bit
Byte Order:            Little Endian
CPU(s):                4
On-line CPU(s) list:   0-3
Thread(s) per core:    2
Core(s) per socket:    2
Socket(s):             1
Vendor ID:             GenuineIntel
CPU family:            6
Model:                 42
Stepping:              7
CPU MHz:               1173.000
BogoMIPS:              4589.45
Virtualization:        VT-x
L1d cache:             32K
L1i cache:             32K
L2 cache:              256K
L3 cache:              3072K

dmesg

Code:

dmesg
[  395.593698] CPU1: Core temperature above threshold, cpu clock throttled (total events = 171)
[  395.593701] CPU2: Package temperature above threshold, cpu clock throttled (total events = 171)
[  395.593702] CPU3: Package temperature above threshold, cpu clock throttled (total events = 171)
[  395.593704] CPU1: Package temperature above threshold, cpu clock throttled (total events = 171)
[  395.593713] CPU0: Package temperature above threshold, cpu clock throttled (total events = 172)
[  395.594709] CPU1: Core temperature/speed normal
[  395.594711] CPU2: Package temperature/speed normal
[  395.594712] CPU0: Core temperature/speed normal
[  395.594713] CPU3: Package temperature/speed normal
[  395.594714] CPU0: Package temperature/speed normal
[  395.594721] CPU1: Package temperature/speed normal

PS: The specs in my signature relate to my desktop p.c

sidzen · 07-26-2014, 10:03 AM

Personal experience has taught me to stay away from Toshiba machines and Hitachi hard drives, when it comes to using GNU/Linux. IMHO, they have sold out to M$. Not objective, but no apologies!

Drakeo · 07-26-2014, 10:04 AM

curious in bios setup do you have the option of none OS and OS I always set mine to none OS for Linux and handle performance through bios. Because linux does not run bios it just tries to read them. I mean it is better at reading them. Some Acpi function are better then others. Just curious.
http://slackbuilds.org/repository/14.1/system/cpulimit/
another thing there is a generic module and the toshiba module make sure the toshiba module is loading. I have an old Toshiba laptop
and found this to be the way to go.

Drakeo · 07-26-2014, 10:15 AM

Oh one more thing also since I do not know your model and year. or graphics. If running kde default setting after install with a intel graphics it is running in 3d composite desk top you will want to turn Kwin off or you will be asking the cpu to work very hard because that card does not do 3d well and asks the cpu to pick up the slack.

WhiteWolf1776 · 07-26-2014, 12:38 PM

Running top may shed some light on what is crunching your machine so hard. Something sure must be.

TobiSGD · 07-26-2014, 01:04 PM

If I am not mistaken the C805 features a AMD Radeon GPU. Which driver do you use for that, it is possible that actually your videocard is the culprit.

drmozes · 07-26-2014, 02:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BashTin

Sorry for the alarming headline, but it almost does.

I don't know about the technicalities of what might be wrong (although 'top' should show you most of it) - check that it's not full of dust.
My Lenovo laptop started shutting down due to heat problems, and it turned out that it was full of dust. I pumped some compressed air into it and cleaned it out. It's been fine ever since.
This is worth doing anyway in addition to checking whether there are some issues with power regulation or some driver or application going crazy.

Darth Vader · 07-26-2014, 07:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BashTin

Sorry for the alarming headline, but it almost does.

I have installed slack 14.1, 64 bit on my Toshiba Satellite C805. The cpu is an Intel i3-2350m 2.3Ghz. The thing is it runs very hot and the fan is constantly whizzing round. With Windows 7 however calm reigns and the cpu temp comes in around 55 - 60C. On Slack it is around 80C! It is almost unusable with frequent seizes and logs in dmesg about cpu temp thresholds. I've been a long time user of Slack and have used it on my laptops before without too much of an issue even though it does run hotter than, cough, other operating systems. So please help if you can, I'm almost too scared to use Linux on my laptop in case I fry it!

This is what sensors shows....

Code:

bash-4.2# sensors
coretemp-isa-0000
Adapter: ISA adapter
Physical id 0:  +84.0°C  (high = +80.0°C, crit = +85.0°C)
Core 0:         +83.0°C  (high = +80.0°C, crit = +85.0°C)
Core 1:         +84.0°C  (high = +80.0°C, crit = +85.0°C)

radeon-pci-0100
Adapter: PCI adapter
temp1:        +71.0°C

and sensors detect (edit)

Code:

bash-4.2# sensors-detect
# sensors-detect revision 6209 (2014-01-14 22:51:58 +0100)
# System: TOSHIBA Satellite C805 [PSC6EQ-007004] (laptop)
# Board: Type2 - Board Vendor Name1 Type2 - Board Product Name1

Some south bridges, CPUs or memory controllers contain embedded sensors.
Do you want to scan for them? This is totally safe. (YES/no): 

Intel digital thermal sensor...                                  Success!
    (driver `coretemp')

Some Super I/O chips contain embedded sensors. We have to write to
standard I/O ports to probe them. This is usually safe.
Do you want to scan for Super I/O sensors? (YES/no): 
Probing for Super-I/O at 0x2e/0x2f
Trying family `National Semiconductor/ITE'...               Yes
Found unknown chip with ID 0xfc11
Probing for Super-I/O at 0x4e/0x4f

Now follows a summary of the probes I have just done.
Just press ENTER to continue: 

Driver `coretemp':
  * Chip `Intel digital thermal sensor' (confidence: 9)

Do you want to generate /etc/sysconfig/lm_sensors? (yes/NO): yes
Copy prog/init/lm_sensors.init to /etc/init.d/lm_sensors
for initialization at boot time.
You should now start the lm_sensors service to load the required
kernel modules.

and cpufreq-info

Code:

bash-4.2# cpufreq-info 
cpufrequtils 008: cpufreq-info (C) Dominik Brodowski 2004-2009
Report errors and bugs to cpufreq@vger.kernel.org, please.
analyzing CPU 0:
  driver: intel_pstate
  CPUs which run at the same hardware frequency: 0
  CPUs which need to have their frequency coordinated by software: 0
  maximum transition latency: 0.97 ms.
  hardware limits: 800 MHz - 2.30 GHz
  available cpufreq governors: performance, powersave
  current policy: frequency should be within 800 MHz and 2.30 GHz.
                  The governor "powersave" may decide which speed to use
                  within this range.
  current CPU frequency is 851 MHz (asserted by call to hardware).
analyzing CPU 1:
  driver: intel_pstate
  CPUs which run at the same hardware frequency: 1
  CPUs which need to have their frequency coordinated by software: 1
  maximum transition latency: 0.97 ms.
  hardware limits: 800 MHz - 2.30 GHz
  available cpufreq governors: performance, powersave
  current policy: frequency should be within 800 MHz and 2.30 GHz.
                  The governor "powersave" may decide which speed to use
                  within this range.
  current CPU frequency is 2.00 GHz (asserted by call to hardware).
analyzing CPU 2:
  driver: intel_pstate
  CPUs which run at the same hardware frequency: 2
  CPUs which need to have their frequency coordinated by software: 2
  maximum transition latency: 0.97 ms.
  hardware limits: 800 MHz - 2.30 GHz
  available cpufreq governors: performance, powersave
  current policy: frequency should be within 800 MHz and 2.30 GHz.
                  The governor "powersave" may decide which speed to use
                  within this range.
  current CPU frequency is 782 MHz (asserted by call to hardware).
analyzing CPU 3:
  driver: intel_pstate
  CPUs which run at the same hardware frequency: 3
  CPUs which need to have their frequency coordinated by software: 3
  maximum transition latency: 0.97 ms.
  hardware limits: 800 MHz - 2.30 GHz
  available cpufreq governors: performance, powersave
  current policy: frequency should be within 800 MHz and 2.30 GHz.
                  The governor "powersave" may decide which speed to use
                  within this range.
  current CPU frequency is 1.15 GHz (asserted by call to hardware).

lscpu

Code:

bash-4.2# lscpu
Architecture:          x86_64
CPU op-mode(s):        32-bit, 64-bit
Byte Order:            Little Endian
CPU(s):                4
On-line CPU(s) list:   0-3
Thread(s) per core:    2
Core(s) per socket:    2
Socket(s):             1
Vendor ID:             GenuineIntel
CPU family:            6
Model:                 42
Stepping:              7
CPU MHz:               1173.000
BogoMIPS:              4589.45
Virtualization:        VT-x
L1d cache:             32K
L1i cache:             32K
L2 cache:              256K
L3 cache:              3072K

dmesg

Code:

dmesg
[  395.593698] CPU1: Core temperature above threshold, cpu clock throttled (total events = 171)
[  395.593701] CPU2: Package temperature above threshold, cpu clock throttled (total events = 171)
[  395.593702] CPU3: Package temperature above threshold, cpu clock throttled (total events = 171)
[  395.593704] CPU1: Package temperature above threshold, cpu clock throttled (total events = 171)
[  395.593713] CPU0: Package temperature above threshold, cpu clock throttled (total events = 172)
[  395.594709] CPU1: Core temperature/speed normal
[  395.594711] CPU2: Package temperature/speed normal
[  395.594712] CPU0: Core temperature/speed normal
[  395.594713] CPU3: Package temperature/speed normal
[  395.594714] CPU0: Package temperature/speed normal
[  395.594721] CPU1: Package temperature/speed normal

PS: The specs in my signature relate to my desktop p.c

A typical eggs maker laptop, when you use the beloved open-source Radeon driver. So, use that sick proprietary driver, young Padawan, and everything will be fine...

BashTin · 07-26-2014, 10:15 PM

Thanks to all who replied.

Well I tentatively think this is solved but am not going to mark it as such just yet. Give it some road testing first. What I did in the end was install the proprietry AMD Catalyst driver, as suggested by Darth Vader (big thanks), from here

http://support.amd.com/en-us/downloa...alyst-packages

Installation was easy, just run the install script and it does it all for you. Now temps are comparable with Windows at around 60 - 65 with no load. So looks like job done, thanks.

And just for completness, answers to some of the questions.

The laptop is a 2 year old Toshiba Satellite C805, little used as I mainly use my desktop. So dust can be an issue with over heating but I don't think it likely in this case and it runs cool under Windows 7.

GPU on the C805 is indeed a AMD Radeon, as pointed out by TobiSGD.

Code:

01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: AMD/ATI [Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.] Whistler LE [Radeon HD 6610M/7610M]

top does not show any cpu hogs, excpet for virtuoso-t and nepomukservices which between them consume around 60% cpu for a few minutes and after that it all drops down to almost nothing.

Only bios option are cpu powersaving modes. 'Dynamic' (selected) or 'always low'.

If anyone else has similar issues on thier Toshiba Satellite you should give the AMD Catalyst driver a go.

Regards, BashTin.

piratesmack · 07-26-2014, 11:15 PM

I'm not an AMD owner, but I think your problem with the open-source drivers could have been solved by enabling DPM. That might require a newer kernel than Slackware 14.1 provides, but I'm not sure.

Probably a good idea to run the latest kernel/graphics stack anyway, as there's been many improvements to the open-source AMD drivers recently. For some they are less buggy than Catalyst.

schmatzler · 07-26-2014, 11:32 PM

https://github.com/marazmista/radeon-profile helps with the power management using the open source radeon drivers.

ReaperX7 · 07-27-2014, 01:58 AM

Have you tried the laptop utilities from Slackbuilds.org yet?

TobiSGD · 07-27-2014, 07:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by piratesmack

I'm not an AMD owner, but I think your problem with the open-source drivers could have been solved by enabling DPM. That might require a newer kernel than Slackware 14.1 provides, but I'm not sure.

This would have indeed fixed the problem, but, as you say, DPM is only available with kernel >=3.11 (though the latest kernel is recommended).

Also, to get temperatures even lower while not having to use the powersave governor you should check if the proper kernel module for your CPU (intel_pstate) is loaded.

Didier Spaier · 07-27-2014, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TobiSGD

Also, to get temperatures even lower while not having to use the powersave governor you should check if the proper kernel module for your CPU (intel_pstate) is loaded.

This driver is built in Slackware kernels (not shipped as a module).

PS Congrats for your 4000 rep. points

TobiSGD · 07-27-2014, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Didier Spaier

This driver is built in Slackware kernels (not shipped as a module).

Indeed, and the OP is even using it, somehow missed that in the first post.

Quote:

PS Congrats for your 4000 rep. points

Thanks!